Nobody Wins
by marinaandthedorks
Summary: [Sequal to Meet Me in Heaven] Now that their previous safe haven has been destroyed and ambused, the survivors are forced to continue the journey to find a new place elsewhere. [Daryl x OC] [Read MMIH first or you won't understand any of it]
1. Chapter 1

The cold night air hurted her lungs. She had come out of her tent, because she was afraid to fall asleep. Whenever she was drifting in her unconsciousness, the demons from the past would come out to play with her mind. The same dreadful memories would appear before her, as if she was right in it. Like a horrific movie that she couldn't pause or stop.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at the wooden cross that marked their graves. Only one week had passed since the ambush, yet it still felt like yesterday.

There was no point in drowning in self pity, but she did it anyway. If it wouldn't be for her, these people wouldn't have died. They would still be alive.

Harley sighed and turned around. Her tent wasn't very far, though the others had set up their camp about 2 miles away from hers. Martinez understood that Harley needed time to process and mourn. Steve had been one of her closest friends; Harley had opened up to Steve about some things that had happened to her, and he had listened to everything she had told him. He had comforted her in times of need. They were like a brother and sister to eachother. Steve had been so young.. Maybe only a few years younger than herself. Wiley was only around his mid thirties.

It wasn't fair.

Once she reached her tent, she unzipped the opening and went inside. Even though she was wearing a legging under her pants and 3 t-shirts, she was still freezing. Winter was near, which didn't make a zombie apocalypse any easier.

Harley forced herself to stay awake, but she hadn't slept properly in 3 days. Exhaustion was a dangerous thing, especially in today's world where you had to be cautious, let alone have a strong body.

Figthing against the sleep and weariness was hard, and she eventually lost the battle. When her eyes were closed, she immediately went into dreaming mode, meaning that ofcourse the nightmares filled her head again.

She woke up sweating and panting heavily. A hand pushed her down into the matress. "Sssh, jus' a goddamn dream. Calm down."

Harley didn't have to ask who it was, because she already knew the answer. It had been like this for a while now; during the day they would ignore eachother, though when Daryl heard her scream he was there when she'd wake up. He would stay, until she drifted off into a dreamless sleep again. It made things more complicated, especially since thee kiss from last week.

_This can't keep happening_, she thought bitterly as she closed her eyes again. The sooner she pretended to be asleep, the sooner he would leave again. He was like a ghost, slipping through her fingers whenever she tried to reach out to him. Daryl wasn't good at comforting and she sure as hell didn't want his comfort, but he was pushing her buttons and getting on her nerves.

The worst part was, that Daryl knew it. He knew, that whenever she laid eyes on him, she was longing for his rough hands on her hips. He knew that she was dying to suck on his lower lip. He knew that Harley wanted to grab a handful of his hair while clinging to his body. And Harley knew, that he wanted the exact same thing.

Daryl had been clear about them; it wasn't going to work. She accepted it, while she knew in the back of her head that he was just scared. He could scream all he want, about how he didn't care about her, but she felt his gaze on her back whenever they were out on a run. He wanted to protect her. And Harley felt safe, knowing that he was watching her. Maybe that was just all she needed right now; someone to care.

"I know yer ain't asleep, girl. I ain't stupid."

Harley grunted and turned around to face Daryl. "Just go." she mouthed with a scowl as she continued to shiver from cold. Daryl snorted loudly. "So I can sit there 'n wait 'till those dead freaks 'r comin' ta eat ya 'cuz of yer screamin'? I don' think so." he grumbled in response as he shifted uncomfortable on his knees. Harley grinded her teeth. "I don't need your protection. I never asked for it." she said calmly as she turned her back to him. Eventually, she heard how he left her tent, zipping the entrance behind him.

* * *

The bright sunshine awakened her. Harley groaned and turned around, still tired from the lack of sleep. Though she knew she had to get up anyhow so they could continue the traveling. She was already tired of the idea of having to flee for those bastards, but she understood why they had to do it.

After she had changed into a tight jeans, her combat boots and a jumper, she got out of her tent. Clouds covered the bright sky and Harley dearly hoped it wouldn't rain.

She walked towards the dark green tent and cleared her throat to announce her presence. Hershel was already inside and smiled as soon as he noticed Harley. "You can have breakfast first, I'll do it." she offered with a soft smile. Hershel nodded and stood up to leave. When they were alone, Harley sat down next to him.

"Thanks." Rick said as he looked at her, with a tired expression on his face. He had lost a lot of weight. "It's alright. I'm the reason why you're laying here anyway." she said, barely hearable as she grabbed bandage and alcohol. Suddenly, a hand closed around her wrists. "Don'tcha ever say that again." Rick growled as he squeezed her. Harley avoided his judgemental glance. "It ain't yer fault, so stop tryin' tha put this on you. Ya didn' ask for this ta happen." he continued with a more gentle tone. Harley nodded slowly as Rick let go of her. She started to unwrap the bandage on his shoulder. "If I could do it all over again, I'd do it exactly tha same. I'd take ya in and let ya be a part of our group. 'Cuz that's what ya are Harley, a part of our group. Don'tcha ever forget that."

Harley smirked and made eye contact with Rick. She mouthed a thank you as she continued to change his bandage. "We're a family now, 'n ya protect yer family no matter what."


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of birds softly chirping in the distance kept her mind at ease, along with the sound of Maggie and her chopping wood. Most of the men, except for Martinez, Harry and Nash, were on a run; they were desperately in need of medical equipment. Not only for Rick, but also because it was more likely for someone to get hurt, since the amount of people had grown so sudden.

"Conditioner."

Harley looked up, playfully raising her eyebrows at the farmer's daughter. "_You know_, you could've just asked for that. I still have two whole bottles of conditioner left from our last run." she chuckled, as she carefully dropped the axe on the ground. Harley wiped the glinstering sweat off her forehead and breathed heavily. Maggie's eyes lit up. "Oh god! Ya have no idea how happy I am right now." she chirped in response. The two looked at eachother for a few seconds, before they both burst out into laughter. It was nice, to have a _human_ conversation like people their age should be able to have, instead of having to discuss survival technics. Moments like these made her life still worth living.

Their laughter died away when they heard the sound of engines approaching. Both Maggie and Harley looked up in curiousity. "_What the hell_? How can they be back so quickly?" Maggie questioned in confusion. Harley frowned, too. "I have no idea.. Let's go and take a look." she mumbled in response, as she started to walk towards their camp. Maggie followed closeby.

The doors of the three vehicles opened. Everyone got out, but there were also others whom she did not recognize. Merle caught Harley's and Maggie's confused glances and nodded at the five people. "Terrorized." he explained. "By yer group."

_Your group_. Harley shot an annoyed look at the oldest Dixon, who didn't understand why at first. He eventually got the hint and looked away, mumbling a soft '_sorry_' under his breath. Harley looked at the woman that Shane was dragging towards the camp, which happened to be the only woman in this group. Furthermore there were 3 young boys, 1 about as old as the woman, and 1 older man who was around his 50's. Someone pulled her sleeve and Harley turned around. "You thinkin' they a threat?" Maggie asked softly, as she kept looking at the wounded people. Harley shrugged once in response. "Let's find out."

Harley entered the tent, while Shane was just about to leave. He stopped however, when he noticed Harley. "Not too long," he commanded, "she needs rest."

The brunette raised her eyebrows at him. Not so long ago, Shane seemed as if he was about to lose himself, due to everything that had happened in the time of extreme survival against the dead. Though now there was something else in his expression.. As if he actually cared about these new people? Harley decided to let it rest, so she nodded once in understanding. Shane gave a curt nod in response and left the tent. Harley stepped forward and saw the younger woman from earlier lying down between the blankets. Her shoulder was covered in bandage, just like her left knee. Harley kneeled down in front of the woman, who peeped up at her with a curious yet terrified expression. "I'm not going to hurt you. We're all good people." Harley tried to reassure her, knowing how hard it was to trust new people. The woman only blinked in response, as if a lump in her throat was blocking her ability to speak. "I'm Harley." said Harley, smiling softly as she spoke. "What's your name?" she asked calm and quietly.

"Taryn."

"That's a nice name."

"Thanks." replied Taryn, now smirking slightly. Harley wanted to ask what was up with Shane, though it seemed as if Taryn had read her mind. "He saved me." she said, almost in a whisper. Harley frowned as if she had just said something very unconvincing. "Our house.. The place were we were held up in, was set on fire. I screamed for help because I couldn't find the rest of my group. He risked his life to _save_ me." she calmly spoke. Harley tried to puzzle the pieces together, but ended up only nodding instead. Had Shane really changed? Or was it just a matter of time until he was going to explode?

Though she had no time to think about it, as suddenly someone stepped into the tent. "We need you on a run." Glenn mumbled awkwardly, feeling as if he had been intruding. The brunette bit her lower lip and exchanged looks with Taryn. "I'll be back." she promised, wanting to stand up but stopped by the sudden grasp of the woman. "Thanks.. for.. well.. _talking_ to me." she said with a hoarse voice. Harley smiled and nodded. "That's alright. Get some rest." she said before standing up to leave the tent.

She was actually kind of excited to have new people around, though she was also secretly terrified; her old group did this.

What the fuck was Jack planning on doing next?


End file.
